Portable Speakers of the Decent Breed – AmazonBasics BVT1

Picking a gift for a friend ain’t all that simple and fun always. Well, why not indulge the music passion or the techie in your friend this time. Portable Bluetooth speakers are a lot in trend nowadays. In case you have been told by anyone at all that portable speakers are all cheap speakers with low audio quality, I tell you these speakers have gotten a lot better in recent years. And yet, with all the advancement, there are still great price deals offered on the online market. The AmazonBasics BTV1 Portable Bluetooth Speaker is one marked speaker in the list. If you have never heard of the brand, it is an in-house brand created by Amazon.

Competitions are high and there is a wide range of wireless portable speaker brands chasing to have the better edge for more reasonable prices. It’s a whole new trend for the music lovers as well as the sales marketing business. You get incredible offers on products everyday and yes, Amazon.com, the giant online retailer, has things going unbeaten. It is notable that Amazon has a wide range of portable speakers featured in their site and it is reason enough that perhaps an innovative milestone made Amazon have its name attached to AmazonBasics’ speakers.

Key Features

Well, what was it about AmazonBasics Bluetooth speakers that made it worth Amazon’s interest. Or better still, what has gone into its making…here’s my Amazonbasics portable Bluetooth speaker review for you.

Sturdy Design

To begin with, AmazonBasics is not one of the brands that have their speakers made in China, because of which no extra charges are added in its pricing. This one in fact has an attractive design with a rather glossy finish and it comes in four pure color choices; black, white, blue and red. Clean aesthetic, and besides, the speaker has a conveniently portable dimension at 7.3 x 2.3 x 2.8 inches. Appears decent with clean-edged solidity almost a brick-like block but it sure does feel different to touch for it is sealed firm.

Dual Audio Drivers

Equipped with two 3 Watt internal drivers, this Bluetooth speaker has similar audio quality with the likes of JBL Flip, Jambone Jambox and UE Mini Boom at a considerably lower price. Talking of sound quality, this AmazonBasics portable Bluetooth speaker is not the best sounding speaker out there but it is definitely a value pack worth the price paid for. The speaker has a good audio response between the frequencies of 150Hz to 20KHz; other frequency ranges sound rather flimsy and therefore the fullness of bass may not be that great, but you still do feel the bass. It is notable that the rear side of the speaker has a radiating port and the speaker tends to produce a little more bass when placed right by the wall.

Wireless Connectivity

The AmazonBasic BTV1 Bluetooth speaker has 3.0 Bluetooth version and the wireless range can go up to 40 feet at the most. While the streaming is seamless within the 30 feet range, it can go beyond that certain conditions. I was quite surprised when I discovered one time inside the house that my speaker could pair with my smartphone over a fairly good distance with wall obstructions in between.

Speakerphone

Perhaps not the ideal speaker for a party but definitely will make one cool portable speaker to tag along in the car as your drive to the beach. One of its most handy features as I see it is the speakerphone facility which allows me to take calls more conveniently while driving. No more missing important calls. The built-in microphone is of the fine sort, catches my voice well over most of the honking and beeping of highway vehicles. In fact, the unit turned out much better than I expected.

Battery Life

With a fairly good battery life, the speaker can go on playing for days on end; I play it for an average of half an hour every day. The playtime of this AmazonBasics Portable speaker can reach up to 15 hours on a single charge when played at half the volume level and 8 hours at full volume. It makes a decent companion while on journeys. Most AmazonBasics Portable speaker reviews do not highlight on the battery efficiency of the speaker which is an important factor when it comes to portability. I think the speaker’s battery life is commendable; makes the idea of music on the go a practical reality.

Easy Set-Up and Reliability

Setting up the speaker is simple enough to start playing it right away once the packaging is opened like I did; I clicked it on as I plugged it in to charge. Of course, it does need an extra bit of charging on the first use. but yes, it has prompt functionality. All in all, the speaker has a decent steadfastness about it that is very reliable for an electronic product as such. And yes the AmazonBasics Bluetooth speaker comes with a full year warranty.

Measuring the Pros and Cons

Overall, the AmazonBasics portable Bluetooth speaker is decently featured as well as decent in sound quality, has easy portability and has a very good value at its price range $60 (Check Discounted Price here). If you are on the lookout for a decent speaker without having to spend much, this is one good choice. For one thing, it is a standard brand that will not charge you anything extra. And in case you have decided to gift it, you are in for giving your friend an exciting moment opening the surprising delivery from Amazon. And moreover the speaker is set for a superb first impression with a glossy finish; it doesn’t look cheap at all. On the con side, the glossy surface attracts fingerprints, not a big deal for me, but not being a fingerprint magnet would be nice too.

Next in line, the speaker does sound a teeny bit cranky with select-few tracks but let me emphasize here that most speakers in this price range typically sound worse. Indeed, one of the other reasons why the speaker is a good choice is that it will hold up much better than the speakers in its price range and even against some speakers that cost more. In matters of design, it has the cutting edge over competitors like Cambridge Soundworks Oontz and Urge Basic Soundbrick. Even in the range of its generic Amazon Bluetooth speakers, this one makes the most decent sounding speaker at the most reasonable price range.